History of American Civilization

Secondary PhD Field in the History of American Civilization

A student enrolled in a PhD program in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Harvard may achieve formal recognition for completing a secondary field in the History of American Civilization (Harvard’s graduate program in American Studies, often called "Am. Civ.").  The interdisciplinary breadth of Am. Civ., and its wide-ranging subject matter, make it an attractive secondary field for students from many departments, including English, history, economics, history of art and architecture, music, film and visual studies, religion, anthropology, sociology, and psychology.

The Am. Civ. program spans all aspects of American culture, often with a comparative focus, from European colonization to the present, and it includes a wide range of sources, methods, and theories.  Over the last ten years, Ph.D. students from other disciplines have enrolled in the Am. Civ. Colloquium and/or the Warren Center seminar, and they have incorporated into their dissertations sources and approaches from American Studies.

Coursework

1. Completion of a minimum of four half-course (semester-long) courses.  All four courses must be

a) taken with a member of the Committee on Higher Degrees in the History of American Civilization,

b) chosen from catalog sections headed “Primarily for Graduates,” and c) taken outside the student’s home department.

2. One of these courses must be Am. Civ. 200 or 201 (Am. Civ. Colloquia).

3. Another of these courses must be a seminar requiring a major research paper.

4. The remaining two may include the Am. Civ. Colloquium (200 or 201) not taken under '2,' above, but this second Am. Civ. Colloquium is not required.

5. Neither pass/fail nor audited courses will count towards a secondary Ph.D. field in this department.

Advising and Record-keeping.  Students interested in declaring a secondary field in the History of American Civilization should meet with both the chair and administrator of the program (617-495-3325; amciv@fas; Barker Center 225).  Upon successful completion of the course requirements detailed above, the student should submit evidence thereof to the Am. Civ. administrator.  Upon approval by the Am. Civ. chair, the student and the registrar will be notified that the secondary field requirements have been completed.